Released 25/07/2017
Parks representatives from across Australia will meet in Canberra today and tomorrow to discuss how to deal with the impacts of climate change on the Australian Alps, Minister for Planning and Land Management, Mick Gentleman, announced today.
“The Australian Alps are of critical importance, covering over 1.6 million hectares of public land across eleven national parks and nature reserves in the ACT, NSW and Victoria,” Minister Gentleman said.
“The Australian Alps national parks are an important region of the country, containing Australia’s highest mainland peaks as well as a range of unique flora, fauna and alpine and sub-alpine habitats. The Australian Alps are also the headwater for major river systems, supplying snowmelt waters vital for the environment and our communities.” Minister Gentleman said.
The biennial Australian Alps conference will bring together key Parks officials responsible for the management of the Australian Alps, as well as senior alpine ecologists, so they can exchange information and work together to fight the impacts of climate change. These impacts are already seeing more intense bushfires, reduced catchment runoff and changes to species distribution.
A number of panel discussions will be held on a range of topics including pest species management, endangered species and habit rehabilitation, fire ecology, alpine biodiversity and climate modelling.
The conference follows on from the recent resigning of the Australian Alps Memorandum of Understanding by the relevant CEOs of various Alps agencies at a meeting in Canberra last week.
This historic occasion represented a re-commitment by all agencies to the highly successful Australian Alps national parks cooperative management program, which is now in its 30th year. The program was established to ensure Australia’s rooftop - Namadgi (ACT), Kosciuszko (NSW) and Alpine (Victoria) national parks – are well looked after.
“ACT Parks and Conservation Service also recently took over stewardship of this internationally acclaimed program for the next three years, so it is great to see this informative conference held here in the ACT.
“The program is built on a spirit of cooperation between agencies and the adoption of best practices in park management, and this period of stewardship is a fantastic opportunity for ACT Parks and Conservation to work with the unique natural, cultural and recreational features of the Australian Alps national parks region.” Minister Gentleman said.
Stewardship of the program is rotated between participating agencies every three years. It also offers an opportunity to actively participate in various Alps reference groups, workshops, and various scientific and operational projects, which continue to assist Alps park agencies in managing this region.
The conference will be held at University House at the Australian National University. And will be attended by members of the Commonwealth Department of the Environment and Heritage, National Parks and Wildlife Service of New South Wales, ACT Parks and Conservation Service and Parks Victoria.
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Mick Gentleman, MLA | Media Releases